Indian faction to oppose Women’s Quota Bill on delimitation: Does the government have the numbers to get it approved? | india news

Last updated:April 15, 2026, 18:57 IST

A special three-day meeting of Parliament will be held from April 16-18 to make amendments for the implementation of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act’.

Protesting delimitation, the Indian faction of the opposition has decided to vote against the Women’s Reservation Bill linked to it, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday on the eve of a special three-day session to push for implementation of the law.

Kharge said, “We are all in favor of the Women’s Reservation Bill. But we have objection to the way they have brought it. It is politically motivated.” He said the move was aimed at “suppressing opposition parties”.

A special three-day sitting of Parliament will be held from April 16 to 18, during which amendments to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, mandating 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, will be brought for implementation in 2029.

The government on Tuesday distributed bills related to women’s quota law and delimitation among MPs. The Congress has alleged that when the intention behind a bill is “mischievous” and its content “devious”, the extent of damage to parliamentary democracy is “enormous”.

Women’s Reservation: Draft Bill and Delimitation

according to draft bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased from the current 543 to 850 in 2029 to “operationalize” the women’s reservation law, following the delimitation exercise to be conducted based on the 2011 census.

Seats in state and union territory assemblies will also be increased to accommodate the 33 percent reservation for women.

The Government proposes to delink reservation from the need for a fresh census and subsequent delimitation. A central part of the plan is to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850. The government plans to introduce a Delimitation Bill, 2026, to redraw constituency boundaries based on 2011 census data instead of waiting for new population data.

What did Congress say on Wednesday?

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Parties have “Reservations” Regarding the manner of presenting the bill. “They are playing some tricks regarding delimitation. All parties should unite and fight in Parliament. We will oppose this bill, but we are not against reservation (for women),” he said.

“Although we have consistently supported the Women’s Reservation Bill, we insist that the earlier amendments be implemented,” Kharge said, adding that the parties have long had concerns over the delimitation process.

Congress’s Jairam Ramesh said, “All opposition parties want that one-third reservation should be given to women and it should be implemented on the basis of the existing Lok Sabha number of 543.”

He said, “Women’s reservation should be implemented from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections itself. All opposition parties are completely against the provisions of delimitation. We will participate in the debate in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and oppose it.”

Can the bill overcome parliamentary hurdles? Does the NDA government have the numbers?

Under Article 368, needs modification A majority of the total membership of the House and two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.

To pass a constitutional amendment, the government needs a special majority – two-thirds of those present and voting, plus at least 50% Of the total strength of the house.

Lok Sabha

NDA strength: 293

Indian group strength: 230-240

2/3 majority mark: 364 (if all 543 vote)

Margin for NDA: 71

Rajya Sabha

NDA strength: 141

Indian group strength: 58-62

2/3 majority figure: 164 (out of 245 members)

Margin for NDA: 23

In the Lok Sabha, the NDA’s strength includes the BJP with 240 seats, followed by allies like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with 16 seats and the JD(U) with 12 seats. The India Bloc is led by Congress with 100 seats and Samajwadi Party (SP) with 37 seats.

NDA’s strength increased from 135 to 141 in March after winning 22 out of 37 seats contested in the Rajya Sabha shift elections. This victory was strengthened by cross voting in states like Bihar and Odisha.

While the government can pass ordinary bills, it is about 70 seats short in the Lok Sabha and 23 seats short in the Rajya Sabha for the two-thirds majority required for the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 (about 364 in the Lok Sabha and 164 in the Rajya Sabha).

The India Bloc, led by the four largest opposition parties – Congress (98), Samajwadi Party (37), TMC (28), and DMK (22) – has about 185 MPs in the Lok Sabha. If they vote together, they can easily stop the government from reaching the figure of 364.

If opposition members abstain or walk out, the government can still pass bills reducing the total number of members “present and voting”, thereby reducing the absolute number of votes required for a two-thirds majority.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approached the leaders of all the houses for a special session to find a middle path.

meeting of opposition leaders

top opposition leader A meeting was held at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday to discuss the women’s quota law and develop a joint strategy. Several opposition parties are protesting against linking the women’s reservation law to the delimitation process and increasing seats in several state assemblies as per the 2011 census, and have accused the ruling NDA of playing politics over the law. Leaders of Congress, DMK, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPI and CPI-M were present in the meeting held at Kharge’s residence.

Apart from Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, other leaders at the meeting included DMK’s TR Baalu, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, Trinamool’s Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant and NCP-SCP’s Spriya Sule, which Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attended virtually.

Apart from Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, CPI leader Annie Raja, CPI-M’s Nilotpal Basu, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Independent MP Kapil Sibal, IUML’s ET Mohammad Bashir and RSP’s NK Premachandran also attended the meeting.

Kharge had earlier called a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group at his residence, where top party leaders discussed women’s reservation and the delimitation process.

What are their concerns?

While the Indian faction largely supports the 33% quota, they are critical of several proposed changes in the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026. Opposition leaders, especially Southern states Like Tamil Nadu (Chief Minister MK Stalin), there are arguments that the population-based delimitation exercise would unfairly reduce the political representation of states that have successfully implemented family planning.

The government proposes to increase the size of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats. The opposition says that this expansion will not be on a proportionate basis and may harm non-Hindi speaking areas.

Parties like BSP (Mayawati) and members of the India Bloc continue to demand separate “quotas within quotas” for women belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Critics argue that by linking reservation to delimitation, the government is delaying its actual implementation until at least the 2029 general elections.

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